ISTANBUL: The data showed by Cabinet decision published in the Official Gazette, the fixed tax on beer has been increased to TL 0.85 per liter from TL 0.74, a 15 percent rise. As for wine, the fixed tax was raised to TL 4.59 from TL 3.97, a 16 percent increase. The tax on rakı rose by 21 percent to TL 107.72 per liter from TL 89.11. For cigarettes, the fixed tax has reached TL 0.1866 per pack, up from TL 0.13.
Following the latest tax hikes, the tax burden on tobacco increased from 82.5 percent to 83.05 percent. This makes Turkey the country which levies the world’s highest taxes on tobacco, making tobacco smuggling attractive in Turkish markets.
Turkish Tradesmen’s and Artisans’ Confederation (TESK) Chairman Bendevi Palandöken said that Turkey had replaced the UK on top of the list of countries with the highest taxation on tobacco, adding: “Turkey, compared to its neighbors, is a high-tax country and smugglers target high taxation countries where there is a demand for cheap cigarettes and a network, the distribution channels to meet this demand.”
The average pack of cigarettes costs $5 in Turkey, compared to as little as $2 in such neighbors as Syria, Iran, Armenia and Iraq. Turkish security sources earlier said the biggest share from illicit trade with neighboring countries goes to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The government earlier said it will introduce large-scale tax hikes on tobacco and alcohol products, to be announced every six months or so. Market observers said a new wave of tax hikes on these products is most likely to come in July. Experts predict that the price of alcoholic beverages will see an increase of between 10 and 25 percent, while the price of cigarettes is expected to rise between 3 and 15 percent. Producers and retailers are expected to make decisions about new product prices soon.
Turkey’s European border is one of the critical locations for cigarette and tobacco smuggling, the European Parliament (EP) has said, adding that smugglers are looking for different ways to smuggle tobacco to Europe via Turkey. Turkish harbors are used to reload smuggled tobacco coming from the Middle East and to be sent to Europe, experts said.
